Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

ECO replaces the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme which ended in December 2012. It will run until 31st March 2017. It consists of three parts:

the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO)

the Carbon Emissions Reduction Obligation (CERO)

the Carbon Savings Communities Reduction Obligation (CSRO)

HHCRO offers free energy saving measures (if your home is suitable) such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, and boiler replacement or repairs. This part is also known as the Affordable Warmth Scheme.

CERO is aimed at harder to heat homes, such as those with whinstone or solid block walls. It can provide solid wall insulation to those who qualify.

CSCO provides help to certain groups such as social landlords etc. in certain, targeted, postcodes. This aims to help as many people at once and at minimum cost to the landlord.

In order to qualify for the Affordable Warmth Scheme you must own your home or have the permission of the owner to do the work. You will also need to be receiving one (or sometimes more) of certain benefits to meet the quite complicated eligibility criteria. More general information on ECO and eligibility for the the Affordable Warmth Scheme is available from the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0808 808 22 82.

Which benefits the companies look for can be found at the pages for the individual companies below. You don’t always have to be a customer of a particular company to use their scheme.

Affordable Warmth Scheme details for specific energy companies:

SSE/Scottish Hydro. Details of the SSE Scheme are available here, or you can phone 0345 071 9809 for more details.

npower. Visit the npower website for more details or phone 0800 072 1741 (free from most landlines) or 0330 100 8123 (included in any ‘inclusive minutes’ from mobiles).

Utilita. This page on Utilita website states that you can check your eligibility using their online tool but there doesn’t seem to be one. There’s no phone number either, but there is an online contact form.

OVO. You can register your interest with OVO on this page of their website.